Duterte appoints new CPA general manager

Cebu Port Authority sets turnover of command at 4 p.m. tomorrow

FORMER Cebu Port Authority (CPA) general manager Angelo Verdan returned to his old post last Friday, replacing Edmund Tan who served the agency for two years.

Verdan was appointed as CPA general manager by then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo but he was replaced by businessman Dennis Villamor when former president Benigno Aquino III was elected in 2010.

Two years ago, Tan, a retired commodore of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) replaced Villamor.

During his stint as a CPA general manager, Tan instituted several reforms.

Tan also succeeded in getting approval for the New Cebu International Container Port Project in Barangay Tayud, Consolacion, Cebu by the National Economic and Development Authority board chaired by President Rodrigo Duterte.

But before Tan could implement the project, Duterte ap- pointed Verdan to replace him.

When Duterte assumed on June 30, Tan and all other presidential appointees were considered “holdovers.”

In his statement, Tan said that his replacement hurt him because he thought his good performance would carry him over in this administration, but he said that politics is a different ballgame.

“I am taking this development with an open mind and heart. Maybe God has other plans for me and my family,” Tan said.

In a separate interview, Verdan said his re-assumption of office is just like a mission to accomplish the unfinished business that he left behind six years ago.

Verdan said he will review all the CPA transactions of his predecessors in order to come up with good decisions.

A turnover of command will be held at 4 p.m. tomorrow. EOB